APPLIANCE SPENDING +18%

BNZ Marketview consumer spending for the week ending 6 March has appliance spending well ahead of the market.

Consumer spending on BNZ credit and debit cards for the week before last was +5.92% on the comparative week last year.

The store types with the largest rises in spending were:

Hardware & homeware +18.1%.

Appliances +11.6%.

Sports and camping equipment +10.1%.

BNZ's outlook on the short-term future for retail is that "The short-term future for retail looks bright", thanks to the prospect of interest rates dropping again, these rises in spending look set to continue.